If there’s one thing we used to do really well as a nation, it was home baking. Nowadays, I envy the choice and quality of tarts and gateaux available in patisseries in France – they taste and look so good, you’d almost be a fool to try to recreate them at home. Sadly, the reverse is true in the UK and it worries me that more and more people are turning to bought-in, mediocre, mass-produced alternatives for a treat – particularly when we have such a rich heritage of sweet recipes.

Cast your mind back to times when you were drawn into the kitchen from playing outside by the smell of a rich fruit cake baking away for hours, an apple tart fresh from the oven or cup cakes cooling on a wire rack. Surely, peeling away a cellophane wrapper and eating a bunch of preservatives doesn’t have the same appeal?

Since this is a Bank Holiday weekend you have an extra day to don your apron, so take the time to treat your family and friends to something really special.

Times Recommends

• How to season a wok
• Chicago Rib Shack hits back at its critics
• Gordon Ramsay: Indian barbecue